Claire Rugaard in ‘I Am Mother’
Netflix has acquired North American rights to Grant Sputore’s debut feature I Am Mother after its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.
The global streaming giant had already bought the rights in several international territories to the sci-fi thriller scripted by Michael Lloyd Green, which stars Hilary Swank, Rose Byrne and Clara Rugaard.
Endeavour Content negotiated the deal for the producers, the Penguin Empire’s Kelvin Munro and Southern Light Films’ Timothy White.
Co-producer Anna Vincent tells IF: “It was a competitive negotiation with a number of interested parties. Netflix was the strongest. We’re very happy.”
Mister Smith Entertainment pre-sold the rights to every major international territory except China based on the cast, script and early footage. Studiocanal, which committed to the project early on, is the Australian distributor.
Based on a story by Sputore and Green, the film follows a teenage girl (Rugaard), who is the first of a new generation of humans to be raised by Mother (Byrne), a robot designed to repopulate the earth after the extinction of humankind.
The pair’s unique relationship is threatened when an injured stranger (Swank) arrives with news that calls into question everything Daughter has been told about the outside world and her Mother’s intentions.
The film co-funded by Screen Australia, South Australian Film Corporation, Screenwest and the Adelaide Film Festival received glowing reviews in Sundance.
Sputore is among 13 creatives who will travel to New York in March, supported by Screen Australia, to attend the Australian International Screen Forum and participate in professional development and networking opportunities.